Human Remains of Over 100 People Found in Storage Locker

Published August 28th, 2012

PENSACOLA - The State Attorney’s Office may file criminal charges against a former associate medical examiner after human remains belonging to more than 100 individuals were found in a Pensacola storage unit.

The remains include hearts, lungs, tissue samples and ten brains.

Officials said the remains were found Friday in containers in a unit rented by Michael Berkland at Uncle Bob’s Storage on Fairfield Drive.

Medical Examiner Dr. Andi Minyard said the remains appear to be from private autopsies Berkland performed between 1997 and 2007.

She said it appears the autopsies were done at local funeral homes and in Panama City.

The remains were found after the storage unit was sold during an auction. The buyer alerted a manager at Uncle Bob’s to what was in the unit, and the Pensacola Police Department was called.

Berkland worked for the Medical Examiner’s Office between 1997 to 2003. He was reportedly fired in May 2003 for keeping a large backlog of cases and failing to complete autopsy reports in a timely manner.

Assistant State Attorney Greg Marcille said the investigation will include his office meeting with the Police Department.

He said his office also will contact the Department of Health and the Environmental Protection Agency to see if any of the agencies’ regulations have been violated.